The environment has found a new champion. Justin Trudeau,
famed firstborn son of Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, has added his
voice and name to the fight to save the planet. Justin, who has inherited his
father’s intelligence and passion for social justice, along with his mother
Margaret’s beauty and gentle soul, has stepped into the fray after years of
avoiding the political limelight.

Already an active board member and spokesperson for
Katimavik, and Master’s student at McGill University, Justin recently took the
job of chairing the Youth Section of the Federal Liberal Renewal
Commission.When asked why he has
chosen now to make his stand, the young Trudeau’s answer was characteristically
passionate and honest.

“With the Liberals regrouping, weighing in right now
provides a real opportunity to make a difference,” he said. “We can all make a
difference. We have to learn that it’s not about sitting around waiting for
something to happen or someone to take care of us. We live in a country of
extraordinary privilege and along with that comes an extraordinary
responsibility that we have yet to understand.”

The main focus of Trudeau’s considerable attention is the
threat of global warming. While he acknowledges that we face countless
environmental problems, he has chosen global warming because of its direct
connection to individual human activity.

“No other environmental problem is looming so heavily upon
us, with the inevitability of impact; that is so completely and directly
related to our own consumption patterns,” said Trudeau. “Our current economic
model has no way of accounting for what we’re doing. We’re in a finite system,
acting like we have an infinite supply of resources.”

As Trudeau explains, in the past when we’ve pushed
civilization beyond its resources to the point of collapse, a new civilization
invariably has sprung up somewhere else. When Mesopotamia fell, Egypt rose;
when Egypt fell, the Roman Empire rose; and so on through the centuries.

“What’s different now is that we have a global
civilization,” Trudeau explains. “Where do you go when it collapses?”

For Trudeau, the solution is two-fold. First, we have to
rethink the system. “Time was that the guy who could use tools faster and
better won,” he said. But this isn’t about bigger or faster tools; it’s about
changing how we fundamentally measure success and failure.

“If we’re going to handle this tipping point, we’re going to
have to learn to manage the change, and that means start changing right here
and not worry about ‘out there’,” he said. “We have to invest everything we
have in changing how we do business.”

“Secondly, every single citizen in this country has to
change his or her behaviour in a deep and meaningful way.” For Trudeau, this
means learning to do more with less and build small, sustainable communities,
and uses the example of his own community in Montreal where he hopes to create
a small energy co-op. Trudeau’s goal is to get his neighbourhood to invest in
solar panels, thereby making his community energy self-sufficient.

“When you generate your own power, you become more aware of
your energy consumption,” said Trudeau. “It’s not about finding “The solution”,
it’s about finding a variety of solutions.”

Another solution Trudeau is currently looking at is
transportation. When recently faced with the decision of whether or not to buy
a fuel-efficient car, his decision was both innovative and something that the
elder Trudeau would have no doubt enjoyed.

“Instead of buying a car, I bought a bus pass and a new
bike,” said the native Montréaler.

And then he added, “Every single individual has the power to
change the world. It’s that simple.” A sentiment, no doubt, his dad would have
applauded.

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Katimavik, Canada’s
leading national youth volunteer service program for Canadians ages 17 to 21
years old, was created during Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s years as Prime Minister.
Its mission is to foster the personal development of our nation’s young people
through a challenging program of volunteer community work, training and group
interaction. Since 1977, Katimavik has enabled nearly 25,000 Canadians to be
involved in more than 2,000 communities throughout this great country.

The Trudeau Foundation promotes
research into the social sciences and humanities in Canada, and fosters a
dialogue between scholars and policymakers working nationally and
internationally on issues of human rights and social justice, responsible
citizenship, Canada and the world, and humans in their natural environment.